This Creamy Delicatessen Fruit Salad recipe is a creamy and luscious fruit salad that is perfect for summer, potlucks, holiday gatherings, or a light dessert!
You know that delicious fruit salad you get at your local delicatessen? This is it!
Well, maybe. I don’t know for sure, but this reminds me of it.
When we lived in Minneapolis, we used to frequent a place called Cecils in Highland Park. They had the best Knishes and Hamantaschen. And this salad. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – maybe because it tastes like dessert!
The dressing is creamy and sweet, reminiscent of Ambrosia fruit salad recipes, but minus the marshmallows and Cool Whip. It’s so good! I made a batch just for the four of us and we polished it off the same day. But hey, fresh fruit…so no guilt, right?
Fruit Salad Recipe
(Scroll down for the detailed printable recipe card.) Here’s what you’ll need:
- Fruit Salad Dressing: Cream cheese, plain Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and granulated sugar
- Fruit: Apples, green and red grapes, canned pineapple tidbits or chunks, and canned mandarin oranges
How to Make Fruit Salad: it so easy to make this! You simply blend the dressing ingredients until creamy and then fold all the fruit into it until combined and smooth.
Storage
You can make this up to 12 hours ahead of time, but I recommend serving it the same day you put it all together. The fruit won’t turn brown if you make it in advance, but the mandarin oranges tend to break down a bit the more they sit because they’re so delicate, and the dressing does tend to loosen a bit.
Other salad recipes we love!
- Chicken Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Creamy Corn Salad
- Mexican Rice and Grape Salad
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Creamy Delicatessen Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 medium sweet apples (I prefer Pink Lady or Honeycrisp), cubed
- 1 cup green grapes , cut in half
- 1 cup red grapes , cut in half
- 8 ounce can pineapple tidbits or chunks in 100% juice, drained
- 11 ounce can mandarin oranges ,drained
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk (or beat with an electric mixer) together the cream cheese, yogurt, mayonnaise, and sugar until combined and smooth.
- Add in the apples, both grapes, and pineapple; toss to coat. Add in the mandarin oranges and gently fold in with a spatula.
- Enjoy right away or refrigerate until ready to serve.
This was absolutely delicious. Sort of reminded me of ambrosia, but without marshmallows.
I need to do as much prep ahead of time as possible so I’m wondering if I dice my apples the night before do I need to do something to them to keep from turning brown? And what if I mix the dressing together tonight then just assemble everything in th morning? Any suggestions?
Hi Nora! Yes, you can prep the dressing ahead of time and then toss everything right before serving. Here is a nice article on options for preventing apples from browning (although keep in mind that any added flavor solution will also effect the overall taste of the fruit salad.) https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-keep-apples-from-turning-brown-article
Once assembled, I would serve within 12 hours since the dressing starts to loosen and the mandarin oranges tend to break down.
Jus made this as a test run for Easter. Delicious!
I tried this recipe this morning and it is fantastic!!
Perfect for holidays!
Can you add fresh slices of bananas if you wait to add them at the last minute before serving? This salad sounds so good that I intend to make this for church potluck luncheon.
Sure!
Can you add different fruit? More fruit? I cant wait to try this :)
Recipe says 1 1/2 ounces of cream cheese. Is this correct?
Yep.
Can we make this the night before eating it? Won’t the fruit turn brown?
I would recommend serving the same day – the fruit won’t turn brown if you make it in advance, but the dressing does tend to loosen a bit.
Can you use sour cream instead of yogurt.
What if we use mayonnaise instead of yogurt which are healthier??
Do you really need to add mayonnaise? Im just to scared to do it, its just gonna ruin everything, ist it?
This recipe calls for mayo. I love mayo. I think it’s a good addition to the dressing. Can you leave it out? Um…sure. But that will render different results in taste and texture. If you hate mayo, though, then maybe that will be a good thing for you? I don’t even know how to answer this….
This stuff is delicious!! The mayo in the dressing adds an extra twang..dont think it would be as good w/out it !!!
I agree
This is picnic perfection! Love the greek yogurt addition- great way to lighten things up and add that extra tang!
I don’t think I’ve ever had a deli fruit salad… But this certainly looks delicious!
Mmmmm cream cheese yogurt and mayo…sounds like a killer combo :) I’ll take a big bucket of this please!!
We love fruit salad and eat often during the summer months. No reason we can’t treat ourselves to this version with that creamy sweet dressing.